What exactly is tumbling?

[Naicecuppatea]

My dd, 6, has been selected to do a trial tumbling set of 3 sessions to see if she would be suited to the tumbling squad. She does rec gym normally. I have no idea what tumbling is, what it would entail in terms of time/effort. The gym team are very difficult to get any info from!

Can anyone help please?

Its forward rolls, cartwheels, handstands and those sort of two-man jobs where they roll over and over together. Fun! Quite easy to get started too!

Ah! thank you . Does it take a lot of time or is the answer to that question gym-dependent?

Probably is gym dependent, yes. My dd is 12 and does it as part of wider circus training that also involves trapeze, stilts and manipulation (juggling, skittles etc) etc. She does an hour and a half a week with the group, but only a bit of that is tumbling. She practices quite a bit at home - the most you need is a thick gym mat.

It involves little or no equipment and they can start to see improvement quite quickly so they tend to like it. Good to start young too, because they tend to do what is asked of them without thinking too hard about it and getting nervous.

Naice, if your daughter is in a rec gym class, she's probably already doing cartwheels, forward rolls and the like. Tumbling, in a gymnastic squad setting is rather different

I have no idea of how to post a link, but if you look up Rachael Letsche 2014 World Tumbling champion, on the BBC Sport Website, there's a video of her winning routine - that will give you the general idea

Of course, that's the ultimate level, they won't expect anything like that from a 6-year old! Joining a squad is just the first step

Depending on the gym, she'll step up her training hours from rec gym, but not by too much initially. The squad leader will be able to tell you what's involved - persistence pays off when eliciting information from coaches!

Hope this helps!

Tumbling wouldn't be handstands etc its what you see gymnasts do during the floor routines, round offs, handsprings, layouts, back tucks etc

My ds is a tumbler. He started squad at 6. He trains 4 x 3 hrs sessions per week.

Tumbling is a series of linked moves on a sprung track. Usually starts with a run up, a round off and various whips, flics and somersaults etc.

It's a great sport. My ds was british champion last year. He is currently Yorkshire champion for his level and age. He went up 3 levels this year and an age group. He did qualify for the British championships and came 7th. It was a great effort. He is 12.

He trains really hard, lots of running and conditioning but he loves it.

Ugg does your DS's name begin with an H